SHELBY, North Carolina -- Shrewsbury Legion Post 397 is advancing to the final four of the American Legion World Series. It's the first time since 1978 a team from Massachusetts has qualified. The locals will play in a semifinal game Monday evening at 7 p.m. at Keeter Stadium.
Shrewsbury dropped their first game against Troy, Alabama 13-1, but then came out swinging against League City, Texas on Friday, winning 3-1. Troy defeated League City on Sunday afternoon to clinch a spot in the other semifinal.
It was all on the line for Post 397 on Saturday night against Camden, South Carolina.
Shrewsbury's Zach Amero set the tone early with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 1st inning. Post 397 went up with a 2-0 lead. Amero came through in the clutch again in the bottom of the 3rd inning. He doubled deep to right to score A.J. Hamm to give Shrewsbury the 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, with bases loaded, Chris Pompei delivered an RBI single to give Shrewsbury a 4-0 lead. David Siciliano went six innings on the mound, striking out two and giving up one earned run. Ryan Sande came on in the seventh inning to close the door in style with a strikeout to end the game.
Shrewsbury topped South Carolina 4-1 to move on to the final four. Kevin Shea has highlights and reaction from the team in the video above.